Monday, December 05, 2005

Art, Africa and Acts of Law.

There was a quotation I read the other day, which entirely summed up my own insecurities and feelings about art...

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid. Jules Feiffer

I am getting better at crafty things - I'm quite the card-making star nowadays - and I draw daft cartoons, but actual a.r.t. - too scary. I feel like if I even tried, it would make people think that I was stupid enough to think I was any good at it. Like, even to try would be arrogant self-delusion.

The British government has drawn sharp criticism from development charities for taking a debt repayment from Nigeria which dwarfs the UK's entire annual aid budget for the African continent.

[...]

Charity Jubilee Debt Campaign says the payments mean the G7 will receive more in six months from Nigeria than the 2005 Gleneagles G8 deal will provide to poor countries in a decade. The G8 is the G7 plus Russia. Trisha Rogers, Jubilee's director, said: "It is obscene for G7 countries to take billions of dollars from one of the poorest countries on earth. In particular this means the UK will take from Nigeria almost exactly twice as much as it is giving in aid to the whole of Africa in 2005." She urged Britain, which chairs the G7, to take the lead in refusing to accept the payments. (Read more...)

I hate this stupid government more each day. And I learn from red one that today's budget consisted of the following terrifying £number...

"Since September 11th we have doubled the budget for national security. Today we are making available an additional £135 million for security and counter-terrorism. And for the armed forces for Iraq, Afghanistan and other international obligations an additional £580 million."

Can't help but wonder if that's got anything to do with the Nigeria story above... or the other million cuts going on and being proposed lately.

Today sees another important date in the progression of the Disability Discrimination Act, as people with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis will now get protection from discrimination, effectively from the point of diagnosis.

.As I understand it, until now people were only protected from disability discrimination in the law once they were actively being disabled by an illness, so it was actually not illegal to sack someone who had just been diagnosed with HIV, or cancer, as long as they weren't ill yet. There is lots of information on this at Point of Diagnosis and I think that this is a very positive move.

Re: DDAAh yes a most positive step forward- also don't forget that now mental health stuff doesn't have to be "clinically well recognised" to count as a disability under the act. I am not sure precisely what that would cover, but surely A Good Thing in any case.

btw I think you are very arty. I have one of your pictures you did for me displayed in my kitchen :-)